Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

The next day, early morning.

The Eastern Palace.

The Eastern Palace has two study rooms separated by a courtyard, ensuring that they do not interfere with each other, which is perfect for the competition format of two simultaneous lessons.

Before the hour of Si (9-11 AM), all twenty sons of princes and nobles arrived at the East Palace.

These teenagers were all of similar age and were children of noble families. They had been pampered and spoiled since childhood. Most of them disliked studying and were playful. They were restless and were recognized by the court and the public as the most difficult group of students to manage.

"The Essentials of Heaven" is the most obscure and difficult book among the enlightenment books. These teenagers had never come into contact with it before, which ensured the fairness of this competition.

The twenty people were randomly divided into two groups and were already seated in the two dormitories.

The boys couldn't contain themselves and started talking in pairs, their expressions varied: some looked curious, some were relaxed and apathetic, and some were completely indifferent...

Little did they know that in the coming month, their studies would determine the future academic atmosphere of Daning and become the ultimate showdown between old and new educational philosophies.

All they knew was that at this time, they should have been sleeping in at home or playing with their friends, but instead they were forcibly taken to the palace for classes, and anyone would feel resentful...

Just as the hour of Si (9-11 AM) arrived, two figures walked side by side into the East Palace Academy.

Zhao Rui, dressed in a neat court robe, stood tall with his head held high, his face stern and exuding an aura of authority.

Chen Chang'an, on the other hand, wore an elegant blue robe, making him appear much gentler. Although he lacked Zhao Rui's sharpness, he possessed his own unique demeanor.

As the two brushed past each other, Zhao Rui paused slightly and glanced at Chen Chang'an.

His gaze was calm, yet it concealed an undisguised arrogance.

He was taught by renowned teachers from a young age. His grandfather was the Grand Tutor of the court, who taught several cabinet ministers and countless other officials of the fourth rank or above.

In terms of writing, poetry, couplets, and chess, he is no match for Chen Chang'an.

However, when it comes to teaching students, Chen Chang'an, who could only use some unorthodox and sensational methods to arouse students' interest, was simply incomparable to him.

The two entered the east and west dormitories respectively.

In the east wing, Zhao Rui, with a stern face, walked up to the podium, glanced at everyone with a serious expression, and said coldly, "I am a compiler of the Hanlin Academy. For the next month, I will be teaching you the *Cheng Tian Yao Dian* here. The *Cheng Tian Yao Dian* is a culmination of the thoughts of the ancient sages, containing principles of self-cultivation and governance. It is a classic text that all members of the imperial family and noble families must study. You are born into prestigious families, so you should study diligently, abide by etiquette, abandon laziness, and study attentively, so as not to fail your family and the Emperor's grace..."

The group of teenagers below, who were already harboring resentment, were getting annoyed after listening to his long lecture...

The bodies that were barely sitting upright began to sag and sway. Some people stared blankly out the window with unfocused eyes, some people's heads gradually became drowsy, and some people secretly made faces and kept making small movements.

Seeing this, Zhao Rui's expression grew even colder, and he slammed the ruler heavily onto the podium.

"Pay close attention!"

The stern rebuke echoed throughout the dormitory, startling everyone and making their expressions more serious. Zhao Rui nodded in satisfaction.

His teachers were very strict with him from a young age. If he was distracted or lax in class, he would be punished with a ruler.

If anyone slacks off later, he will offer them a ruler as a warning to others.

Another school building.

Chen Chang'an came today without bringing any textbooks. In his view, the first day of class was especially important, and he wanted to give these students a good start.

He didn't even go up to the podium. Instead, he pulled up a chair, sat down facing the group of noble children, and said with a smile, "I am your future teacher. Today is the first day of class. We won't talk about scriptures. Let's start with a story..."

Hearing that there was a story to tell, these originally somewhat carefree teenagers became a little interested, and their eyes began to focus on Chen Chang'an.

The story of Journey to the West has been proven in the lives of several imperial heirs, and Chen Chang'an's opening remarks were a wonderful world that the young people had never heard of before.

As he narrated, everyone went from being nonchalant and sitting crookedly at the beginning to gradually straightening up and becoming more and more serious, completely immersed in the story Chen Chang'an was telling.

They had expected that attending classes in the palace would mean listening to dry and boring words of sages, but they never imagined that they would be there to hear stories.

And it's such a wonderful story!

"The stone monkey became a disciple of Patriarch Bodhi, devoted himself to cultivation, and learned extraordinary skills, including seventy-two transformations, which he could change at will. With his somersault cloud, he could travel 108,000 li in a single leap. He could ascend to the Heavenly Palace and descend to the Dragon Palace of the East Sea, roaming the world freely, and no one could stop him..."

The image of the Great Sage, with his unrestrained and free-spirited nature, instantly captivated the hearts of all young people.

The ten newly rich kids listened with rapt attention, their eyes filled with longing and admiration.

Young people yearn for freedom and power.

They listened with great enthusiasm, their minds filled with daydreams, wishing they could be that free and unrestrained divine monkey, able to fly and roam the world at will.

Chen Chang'an took in the whole scene without being surprised at all.

Back then, he was one of those children who would sit in front of the TV every morning waiting for Journey to the West to start airing.

Time passed slowly, and the two school buildings, east and west, presented completely different scenes.

In the East Chamber, Zhao Rui used all his knowledge to try his best to explain the opening of the "Essentials of Heaven's Mandate" in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

The ten students had absolutely no interest in these scriptures.

But the teacher was very strict with them. If they were even slightly distracted or dozed off, they would be punished with a ruler hitting their palms...

They could only pretend to listen attentively to the lesson, their eyes on Zhao Rui, but their minds were already wandering off somewhere else.

Meanwhile, in the West Dormitory, the children's eyes and minds were all on Chen Chang'an.

The story of Sun Wukong is so exciting! They have already heard that he returned to Flower Fruit Mountain, befriended various demon kings, and retrieved the Ruyi Jingu Bang from the Dragon Palace of the East Sea, forcibly changing the Book of Life and Death in the Yama's Palace...

These strange and unheard-of stories left the noble sons completely dumbfounded.

Although there were storytellers in the capital, they mostly told tales of scholars and ladies, fox spirits and ghosts, which were far less captivating than Mr. Chen's tales...

How can there be such a wonderful story in this world...?

Just as everyone was immersed in the wonders of the Journey to the West world, Chen Chang'an slowly stood up and said, "That concludes today's lesson. After you all return home, memorize the first paragraph of the general outline of the *Cheng Tian Yao Dian*. Before tomorrow's lesson, everyone must recite and explain it. If all ten of you can recite it flawlessly and understand its meaning, we will continue with the story of Sun Wukong's havoc in the Heavenly Palace tomorrow. If even one person fails to recite it, we will proceed with the discussion of the *Cheng Tian Yao Dian* tomorrow..."

After saying that, he turned and left the schoolhouse.

He had been talking for half an hour and was getting a bit thirsty. He'd better bring a pot of tea for the next class...

Soon, his figure disappeared into the school building.

Only ten bewildered teenagers remained, looking at each other in confusion.

The class was only halfway through when the teacher dismissed them.

More importantly, for the better part of an hour, the teacher spent the entire time telling the story of that monkey, without mentioning anything about the "Imperial Scriptures of Heaven"...

They don't even know what the first sentence of the Chengtian Yaodian is, so how can they memorize its meaning?